(PIN) DIGITALIZED DEPOSIT RETURN SCHEME PREFERRED

A majority of consumers in the UK would like to have a digital DRS system.

16 Aug 2022 --- Consumers strongly prefer the idea of a digitalized deposit return scheme (DRS) as the UK’s four nations draw closer to implementing or updating their systems. This is the finding of a survey by Reward4Waste, a recycling technology company based in England.

Digital DRS systems allow consumers to scan empty packaging products and the bins in which they deposit them through a mobile phone app, which then grants them a monetary reward for recycling. This could be extended to include products beyond drinks containers.

The research, commissioned by Reward4Waste and conducted last month by research agency OnePoll, among a representative sample of 2000 adults, suggests that nearly two-thirds (63%) of people would prefer a digital deposit return scheme using an app at home or on the go; either as a stand-alone facility or as part of a hybrid system.

Only 25% would opt for a return-to-store system only, while 12% either did not know or were unsure what system they would prefer.

“I hope Government ministers currently considering the different DRS options will note that a digital DRS, where people use a smartphone app to scan a unique code on their drinks containers and recycling bin to capture that return and redeem the deposit, is the clear first choice for consumers,” remarks Tony McGurk, chairman of Reward4Waste. Packaging Insights - link - Louis Gore-Langton - link - more like this (France) - link - more like this - (waste) - link - more like this (recycling) - link

(WAM) WASTE DOWN UNDER GOING UNDERGROUND

As scavenging, noise pollution and odour hazards complicate conventional waste management systems in cities across the world, underground high-tech bins offer a smart solution to the problem.

Last June, Evac set up its bespoke underground waste collection network system in Maroochydore City on the Sunshine coast.

The Swedish-based underground waste collection specialist is responsible for installing high tech waste inlets that can suck municipal waste underground from apartments and commercial buildings at a speed of 70 km/h through a subterranean network of pipes thereby eliminating the need for waste collection trucks.

The new system is set to beatify the cityscape as well as contribute to general cleanliness as it will eliminate the need for wheelie bins, considered a nuisance particularly in the summer on account of their tendency to overflow. Envac’s smart waste solution may also help prevent congestion while helping to decrease carbon emissions occasioned by daily waste collection rounds.

Emptying roadside bins via high-powered suction takes mere minutes unlike the hours devoted by waste management fleets, the high-pressure suction system thereby enabling a sustainable as well as time efficient waste collection operation.

In the case of Maroochydore, a Queensland based commercial hub, Envac facilitated the building of an underground pipe network that stretches out for more than 6 km, paid partly by a $21 million fund.

So far, the project is a work in progress, with several bin inlets and collection stations as well as the first parts of the underground piping, intended to process organic, general as well as recyclable waste, having already been finished.

The futuristic waste system functions as follows-waste dropped through individual inlets across city wide collection points falls into a sealed underground compartment. Upon activation of the vacuum pump, this waste is sucked through a pipe network and delivered into compactors contained within the relevant central facility, there awaiting pick-up for recycling.

It will be the first of its kind, automated underground household waste system to be built in Australia - link - more like this - link

CHINA 2030 - TO DOUBLE THE HOUSEHOLD WASTE OF AMERICA

It is rare to see the president of a superpower personally attend to waste separation issues. Chinese President Xi Jinping did just that in November 2018 when he gave a speech in which he strongly admonished the citizens of his country to improve the way they sorted their waste.

For a good 20 years, China has tried to increase its recycling rate, with only modest success so far. In 2019, different reports put that rate at 5% to 20%. There are no reliable statistical data on this subject.

The estimate of 20%, which is at the upper end of the spectrum, comes from a journal closely affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The more developed a country becomes and the greater prosperity it feels in even remote regions, the more urgent become its recycling problems.

At present, China is already producing more waste than the United States, a nation known for its consumerism. By 2030, the World Economic Forum estimates that China will have double the household waste volume of America - link